STORY SUMMARY
It is present-day Greece and there is a small village deep in an ancient forest. A family of three lives in a little house in the forest, among neighbors who also have houses, villas, gardens among these beautiful ancient trees. Irini is a mother who also is a music teacher. Her husband Tasso is an extremely talented artist who paints the trees from the ancient forest which is his muse. Their young daughter Chara (pronounced Har ah), whose name means "joy" is their only child and she also likes to draw and play in the forest.
One day their lives are changed forever. A horrible, fast moving forest fire approaches their village...the flames chase the birds into the sky and chases the animals towards the sea. All of the people start rushing to the sea. Irini and Chara make it over a villa wall, thanks to an old man, who helps them over but they cannot find Tasso anywhere. They also don't know where Chara's grandfather is (Lazaros).
Months later, as their village tries to rebuild and Tasso has been found with damaged hands, Irini stumbles upon the man who started the fire. He is a land speculator who had originally intended to just have a small, controlled burn to clear some forest land for his purposed hotel development.
He is dying. The cause is a bit unclear and in Irini's anger, she makes a decision in a split second that will haunt her going forward.
The local police begin to investigate the suspicious death, while Tasso mourns his father who hasn't been seen since before the fire began. Tasso has been left unable to paint and is in a deep depression that medication really doesn't seem to be helping. Only Chara, who wants to repair the damage that has been done, gives him hope for the future.
What will happen when Irini begins to tell the truth to the police? Will Tasso ever laugh again?
MY THOUGHTS
This is a profound look at how devastating wildfires are, and how they don't just happen here in the States, but also around the world. The author happened to be doing reserach for another book, when a wildfire swept through Greece, inspiring her to write this novel. She speaks of her experience and the people she spoke with, in the back of the book.
This book is full of excellent settings, character development and emotional drama.
It's very intimate in its tone and the main theme seems to be the meaning of life after a tragedy and how that tragedy affects people and how it ties people together. It's about home. It's about the land. It's about how our world is changing.
This is one of the best books I've read all year. It is very powerful and moving.
There were some great quotes that jumped out at me and showed me just how profound this author is. Here are my faves:
"There is something about stories that allows us to process the present. We listen to tales of tribulations overcome so that we might imagine we can survive ours. Children listen to the same fairy tale time and time again because there is a puzzle in their hearts that they unknowingly need to solve. " (pg 63, The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri, c. 2024)
"The fire has burnt our souls, our hearts. It has turned to ashes the people we once were." (pg218)
"They demonize each other....the "other" is always to blame and it fuels people and governments with fire. this never leads to any good on this earth." " And right here Vasilios could see that they were all their own enemies, that they were all human, all in pain, all hurting each other from hatred and fear." (pg 256)
"there is a ghost hovering above us, and it is not godly. It is the spirit of our own destructiveness." (pg 301)
I highly recommend this book. These characters will stick with me for a bit.
I found absolutely no editing errors!
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.
1 comment:
I'll have to see if the library has it. This sounds like I would really like it.
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